Recognizing the lifesaving benefits of smoke and other hazardous condition threat detectors, more and more consumers are installing these devices in their homes. Indeed, many municipalities have enacted building ordinances that require that smoke detectors be installed in new construction and in order to sell an existing home. Apartment buildings and other commercial structures typically also include such smoke and other threat detectors. As a result, many consumers and dwellers of such structures are now able to escape the hazardous condition based on the early warning that such a condition exists.
While the lifesaving benefits of such hazardous condition detectors cannot be disputed, they often cause great consumer confusion and panic when they sound their alarm, especially at night. This confusion and panic may occur to its greatest extent when the consumer is awakened from sleep by the sounding of the hazardous condition alarm. This confusion and panic is only exacerbated by the darkness as most consumers do not sleep with many lights, if any, turned on. Knowing that time is short, and often fearing for the safety of their loved ones, these consumers may be injured as they rush around in the darkness in response to the hazardous condition alarm. While most consumers are familiar enough with their dwelling to know where to find safe exits, the darkness and confusion of the situation may cost the consumer valuable time in choosing a safe exit path to reach such exits. Further, while the consumer may be able to turn on lights at their present location, other lights and the switches to illuminate them may be located in dark areas remote from the consumer's present location.
Recognizing that people may not be familiar with exits in hotels, apartment buildings, etc., threat detectors are often centrally wired to emergency lights, typically located along and at the ends of hallways, in stairwells, etc. Unfortunately, such emergency lights often add to the consumer confusion as they are typically sparsely located throughout the hotel, etc., are glaring, and often shine into the consumer's eyes based on the emergency lighting being located typically on walls near the ceiling. Since smoke rises, such location often makes visibility more difficult, similar to turning on a car's high beam lights while driving in fog.
There exists, therefore, a need in the art for a hazardous condition detection system that coordinates dwelling illumination so as to reduce consumer confusion during emergency conditions and to aid their speedy and safe exit from the dwelling.